creation and fall

It’s a classic scene in television’s West Wing. Josh Lyman mistakenly announces to the White House press corps that the president has a “secret plan to fight inflation.” His colleagues rib him mercilessly.

As it turns out God is nothing like Mr. Lyman. The divine plan is not to fight inflation but to save creation, and it’s not at all a secret. In fact, Jesus announces it openly:

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NLT).

The Greek word translated as “world” is kosmos. It can also be translated as universe. God – the creator of the universe – has a deep and abiding love for all creation. Psalm 145:9 affirms: “The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (ESV). Later, Psalm 149 calls on all creation to praise the LORD. Nothing is excluded – sun, moon, stars, angels, human beings, the creatures of the ocean depths, animals that scurry along the ground – all must give glory to the creator. In Isaiah’s vision, even trees join the people of God in joyful song (Isaiah 55:12).

The catastrophe

Yet something has gone terribly wrong in creation. Something is broken and must be repaired. Paul explained the devastating consequences of our first parents’ poor choice to disobey God. Death was the result of sin, or disobedience (Romans 5:12). This disastrous consequence rippled out to damage all that God had perfectly made. Romans 8:20-21 (NIV) tells us:

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

In the first section of Christlike Disciples, Christlike World, we looked at the people of God, the church. Beginning in this chapter, we focus on the church’s mission. What are the people of God supposed to do? God wants to use us as partners to repair what is broken:

God’s intent is transformation, to restore to its original state all that God has made.

It’s a not-so-secret plan to save creation. And what is the catalyst that God will use to do that? It’s you, it’s me, it’s us as the church, a monumental mission inspired by our immense God. Yet too often in the past, our mission has been truncated, as if God cared only about the spiritual condition of individuals. In fact, God wants to make us Christlike disciples not as an end in itself, but as a means to a far broader end. This is the transformational mission of the people of God, to be God’s instruments of change in our community, our culture, and nature itself, redeeming the very biological ecosystem that sustains us.

Rock, ripples, and results

If we could only have one Gospel, I would choose Luke. It’s an amazing story of the difference Jesus of Nazareth makes in our world. The birth narrative in Luke 1-2 announces the coming of the Son of God to earth, the incarnation, the divine taking on human flesh.

Have you ever dropped a rock into a pond? What happens? The rock makes ripples. In a way, Jesus is like a rock that God the Father dropped into the pond of human existence. If Luke gives us the story of the rock, Jesus of Nazareth, then Acts is about the ripples and the results. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his 11 disciples that they must wait for the power of the Holy Spirit, who would live inside of them. Then – and only then – can they effectively ripple out, impacting others in positive, life-changing ways:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8, ESV).

The Greek word for “power” is dunamis. It is the root from which derives the English word “dynamite.” When filled with the Holy Spirit, our lives ripple in powerful ways, positively influencing those around us. We become evidence of the transforming capacity of the Gospel.

Yet our world is highly change-resistant. The forces of the status quo don’t give in easily. Jesus found that out firsthand when they arrested, whipped, stripped and hung him on a cross to die. Now on a hill outside Jerusalem, the resurrected Christ warns his disciples: “You will be my witnesses.” The Greek word used in Acts 1:8 for “witnesses” is marthures, giving us our English word “martyr.” This is no ordinary testimony they will bear, but a testimony even unto death. Among those who heard Jesus that day was Peter, who tradition tells us was himself crucified upside down, when he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as had Jesus. Likewise, Stephen became the first martyr, stoned to death for his Christian confession (Acts 7). Advance always comes at a cost. The early history of the church is a bloody one. Writing in the 2nd century AD, Tertullian observed: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” What was true then is true today as numerous Christians in the Middle East are being martyred for no other offense than their faith in Christ.

Thankfully, the rock and the ripples are followed by results. Luke’s account in Acts shows the Christian faith moving out in ever-wider circles. Individuals are transformed, leading to transformation of communities and their pagan practices: Saul, Apollos, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquilla, Cornelius and many more become testimonies of the explosive, transformational power of belief in the risen Lord. In later chapters, we’ll look at some of those stories in greater detail.

Summing it all up

God cares deeply about all creation – human beings, communities, trees, animals, and the whole of creation, all of which were originally meant to praise the creator. Yet human sin – willful disobedience to God – marred what God had made perfect. Not willing to give up on what he had made, God in Christ has launched a not-so-secret plan to save creation, and God’s holy people, the church, are partners in that holy, transformational mission. In the next chapter, we’ll look at the human heart, where the problem originated and where the divine solution must begin.

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Meet Greg

Gregory Crofford, M.A., Ph.D. (University of Manchester, England, 2005, 2008) is an ordained elder in the church, ministering with the Church of the Nazarene. He is Dean of the School of Religion and Christian Ministry at Africa Nazarene University (Nairobi, Kenya) and Coordinator of the PhD (Religion) program. Formerly, he served as Coordinator of Education and Clergy Development for the Africa Region (Church of the Nazarene). Areas of academic interest include early Methodism, missional ecclesiology, and ecotheology.

Greg is also a graduate of Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.- missiology, 1989) and Eastern Nazarene College (B.A.- Religion, 1985). He is a member of Phi Delta Lambda, a Fellow of the Manchester Wesley Research Center (MWRC), a member of the Wesleyan Theological Society (WTS) and secretary of the African Society for Evangelical Theology (ASET).

Writings by Dr. Crofford

Mere Ecclesiology: Finding Your Place in the Church's Mission (Wipf & Stock, 2016) explores the church's purpose and mission in two movements: 1) "breathing in" (worship and discipleship) and 2) "breathing out" (transformational service in the world). It is available in paperback for $ 13.60 USD from Wipf & Stock by clicking here..

"Greg has powerfully captured the church, 'God’s mission in the World', in these brief pages. Ecclesiology is generally a subject written and discussed in academic theological circles and rarely reaches the person in the pew. But this is one for the pew and will be valued as well."
-Jo Anne Lyon, Ambassador
General Superintendent Emerita
The Wesleyan Church

From the back cover:

"This is an excellent overview of the work of the church. Refreshing!"
- Jesse C. Middendorf, General Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene

"If ever the church needed a grassroots understanding to fulfill its mission in the world in this significant time, then this is the 'back to the basics' guide so desperately needed."
- Gabriel J. Benjamin, Church of the Nazarene, Africa Region Education and Clergy Development Coordinator

"Crofford invites us into a discussion regarding the theology of church and the practical implications for ministry...This work will prove useful for the church engaged in the formation of Christlike disciples."
-Carla Sunberg, President, Professor of Historical Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary

"In promoting a healthy church, Dr. Crofford emphasizes the need for 'spiritual respiration.' His conception of church health first requires a 'breathing in' of personal growth that is spiritual, knowledgeable, and communal. Second, spiritual respiration requires a 'breathing out' that is missional, ministering practically to others for their holistic salvation, societal well-being, and ecological care-giving. . . Crofford identifies step-by-step strategies that help Christians to implement 'spiritual respiration' in finding their place in the church's mission."
-Don Thorsen, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University Seminary

The Dark Side of Destiny: Hell Re-Examined (Wipf & Stock, 2013) is available in paperback and Amazon Kindle editions by clicking here.

It is also available here for just $ 6.99 for users of the Nook e-reader.

From the back cover:

"Discussion of Hell is hotter than ever. Yet for all the attention the topic has drawn, few are the resources that provide an overview of the major points in dispute without bogging down in detail.

The Dark Side of Destiny: Hell Re-examined is an excellent primer, yet goes beyond a mere description of options. Dr Crofford weighs various views of Hell in the light of Scripture and finds them wanting. In the end, he champions a neglected view of last things that both responds better to the preponderance of biblical evidence and safeguards the character of God as equitable, holy, and loving.

With probing discussion questions at the end of short chapters, The Dark Side of Destiny is ideal for Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or small groups."

The buzz about Dark Side (from Amazon.com reviews):

"I read this book with my husband on a recent trip out of state. The book is short but says all I'd hoped it would say and does so very neatly. It gave us hours of discussions to make an otherwise dull drive very interesting." - Charlotte Burton

"Dr. Crofford thoughtfully engages with a neglected part of the biblical message: final judgment." - Andrew Pottenger

"Dr. Crofford writes well and treats all positions with gentleness and respect. Beware,-- this little gem is very thought provoking." - John Watton

Wesley and Methodist Studies (WMS) publishes peer-reviewed essays that examine the life and work of John and Charles Wesley, their contemporaries (proponents or opponents) in the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival, their historical and theological antecedents, their successors in the Wesleyan tradition, and studies of the Wesleyan and Evangelical traditions today.

Dr. Crofford's article, ‘Grace to All did Freely Move’: Thoughts on Charles Wesley’s 1741/42 Hymns on God’s Everlasting Love' appeared in Volume 6 (January 2014). Based upon research conducted during the 2012 Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar at Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmington, Kentucky, USA), the essay examines the predestinarian controversy between the Wesley brothers and the followers of George Whitefield, with special focus upon the pastoral concerns that motivated the publication of the Wesleys' hymn collection.

The Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Theology is available in hardcover by clicking here.

Dr. Al Truesale, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at Nazarene Theological Seminary, is editor of this excellent selection of essays by global scholars in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition of Christianity.

Streams of Mercy: Prevenient Grace in the Theology of John and Charles Wesley (Emeth Press, 2010) is available in both softback and Kindle editions at Amazon.com by clicking here.

This is the monograph form of Dr. Crofford's 2008 PhD thesis from the University of Manchester (Nazarene Theological College), U.K.

From the back cover of Streams of Mercy

"Exploring the theological roots of the doctrine of prevenient grace in Anglican, Puritan and Quaker sources as they streamed into the theologies of both John and Charles Wesley, Gregory Crofford has written an engaging account of the significance of this salient grace. In a work marked by careful balance, Crofford ably demonstrates that the doctrine of prevenient grace not only helped the Wesley brothers to integrate diverse elements in their respective theologies but it also enabled them to avoid rigid determinism on the one hand and the 'despair of moralism' on the other. This is an important contribution to the field."

Streams of Mercy was cited by Dr. Amos Yong (currently the Director of Fuller Theological Seminary's Center for Missiological Research) in his plenary address on religious pluralism given to the 2012 meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society held at Trevecca Nazarene University.